How much live rock for a 40g breeder?

glb · Apr 26, 2016

i know the standard is 1-1 1/2lbs/gallon, but I'm wondering if the dimensions of the tank matter. A 40g isn't very deep compared to other tanks. Does that matter in the least? I'm wondering if 40lbs of rock would fit in such a shallow tank. Your thoughts?

Kershaw · Apr 26, 2016

Yes 40lbs would be ideal. But not needed depending out your plans for it. It depends on the typ of rock you get. Will you be running a sump? There is no reason you can't put some of that rock in sump so you can have a cleaner looking display. Or maybe use marine pure blocks to compensate for less rock. But you do want as much live rock as you can tolerate. I ran my tank for about 9 months with minimal live rock then added more later, I had no issues.

mcarroll · Apr 27, 2016

I like about 1 pound per gallon or less...the tank should "look" about 1/3 full, ideally.

If you rock is super-heavy (dense; seems rare these days) you might have to go over the 1 pound rule.

Kershaw · Apr 27, 2016

mcarroll said:
I like about 1 pound per gallon or less...the tank should "look" about 1/3 full, ideally.

If you rock is super-heavy (dense; seems rare these days) you might have to go over the 1 pound rule.

Yes if you find rock that has a lot of holes and crevices you can't get away with less think surfaces area not exactly weight. Surface area is anywhere water and flow.

glb · Apr 27, 2016

I'm planning on buying Marco dry rock. I'll get 50lbs so I have a little flexibility with design. I'll add a small piece of live rock from my other tank to help seed it. It's quarried coral rock that has been cleaned.